Sunday, July 11th

Well, my beef ribs were a disappointment. I smoked 'em as per a recipe but they were tough - I'll look for another recipe with a marinade next.

The good news is that it was followed by two day of EXCELLENT dinners! Last night was grilled chicken thighs (boneless) with vegetable kebabs of onion, red pepper, cherry tomatoe and mushrooms. ALL served over white rice........ simply delicious!

And tonight I opted for a simple meal of corn pancakes and bacon - one of my personal favorites!

Friday, July 9th

I haven't blogged in a while (sorry, faithful readers) cause I've been working on several projects here at the house. The new (parlor) 'gallery' is complete with pictures hanging and lights lighting and it's AWESOME!! Also been working on the upstairs bath.... removing the sink, removing the bull-nose tile and generally preparing for an entire re-facing of the tub and the wall tile (the 19th). (Still have to remove the toilet but I'm waiting until the last moment for that). But the biggest project is the new deck in the outside corner of the master bedroom and the side of the den. The posts, joists and some of the decking is IN and the new 8 ft sliding glass door to the master bedroom is IN. Still have to finish the decking and all of the outside and inside trim for the door - that'll be done next week in time for the wall-to-wall carpeting on the 19th (also) - that'll be a busy day. There are a couple of other smaller projects also but nothing I need help with right now.

ALL of this to let you know that I haven't been cooking/eating anything worth mentioning lately - merely sustenance for an already failing body that refuses to cooperate with my youthful mind!

So I worked this morning for a few hours until I ended up spending MORE time wiping th sweat from my glasses that I spent screwing in decking screws! Then I quit!

So tonight I'm trying something I've never cooked before!! BEEF ribs! They look kind of like baby back pork ribs on steroids (imagine Fred Flintstone). I've reviewed recipes for rubs, but one stood out - just salt and pepper. I had to make a special trip to get some apple wood chips (recommended over other chips) and I'll probably 'play it easy' with just a big baked potato tonight.

You'll hear about the results later - wish me luck!

Thursday, July 1st

Not much happening yesterday - awaiting a big 'push' on the new deck construction today. Soooooo, I thought I'd have another try at smoking some sausages. There is a sale here on Johnsonville products - $2.99 instead of the regular $4.99 - so I had bought some sweet sausages. I smoked them with hickory chunks at about 275 degrees for about an hour. I used less hickory than the last time and these turned out AWESOME!!!!!! SO good, in fact, that I went back to the store and bought some brats and some mild sausages AND SMOKED THOSE TOO! All of them are just delicious! Now I just have to either invite some friends or find some more recipes to use 'em all! LOL Luckily they freeze well!